This is a tough book; not tough to read, because it is from the perspective of a young boy with some form of autism as he tries to make sense of the world. What is tough is that young Jimmy’s world includes an ill mother, a drunk and violent father, an angry brother and a lack of clear understanding of his place in this world.

I loved it. It’s beautiful in its descriptions of Jimmy’s world and that around him. It is the first book I’ve read that gives an account of autism that gives a real sense of what may be happening in the mind of a child. The lack of understanding of what other people are going through, the need to be “both too fast and too slow”. It’s so beautifully done, and so deeply heartbreaking. Oh, Jimmy.